Rubeor v. Town of Wright

191 F. Supp. 3d 198, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74357, 2016 WL 3199510
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedJune 8, 2016
Docket1:13-cv-0612 (LEK/CFH)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 191 F. Supp. 3d 198 (Rubeor v. Town of Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rubeor v. Town of Wright, 191 F. Supp. 3d 198, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74357, 2016 WL 3199510 (N.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

[202]*202MEMORANDUM-DECISION and ORDER

Lawrence E. Kahn, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Before the Court is Defendants Town of Wright; Town Board of the Town of Wright (“Town Board”); Susan Crosby (“Crosby”) Amber Bleau (“Bleau”); Alex Lunieski (“Lunieski”); and Ed Thornton’s (“Thornton”) (collectively, “Defendants”) Motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c). Dkt. Nos. 7 (“Motion”); 7-1 (“Memorandum”). For the following reasons, the Motion is granted in part and denied in part.

II. BACKGROUND

The Court presumes the parties’ familiarity with the facts and history of this case and recites only those facts necessary to the resolution of the pending Motion.

Plaintiff Steven Rubeor (“Plaintiff’) originally filed an Article 78 Petition in New York Supreme Court seeking an annulment of his removal as assessor for the Town of Wright on the basis of Defendants’ failure to comply with state law and the United States Constitution. See Dkt. No. 1-1 (“Complaint”). The Complaint further asserted claims for back pay and damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, citing deprivation of Plaintiffs property rights without due process of law. Id. Defendants removed the action to the Northern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441. Dkt. No. 1. Defendants then filed their Motion and Memorandum, and Plaintiff submitted a Response. Dkt. No. 12 (“Response”). Defendants replied and requested that the Court convert their Motion for judgment on the pleadings into a motion for summary judgment in order for the Court to consider Defendants’ attached Declaration and five Exhibits. See Dkt. Nos. 17 (“Bleau Declaration”); 17-1 to 17-5 (“Exhibits”); 17-6 (“Reply Memorandum”) at 1.

The Court abstained from exercising jurisdiction over Plaintiffs Article 78 claims, and those claims were remanded to state court. Dkt. No. 26 (“2014 Decision”). The Court stayed Plaintiffs federal claims pending the resolution of the Article 78 proceedings.1 Id. The New York State Supreme Court ruled in Plaintiffs favor, finding that Plaintiff was entitled to complete his term as Assessor for the Town of Wright. Rubeor v. Town of Wright, 134 A.D.3d 1211, 20 N.Y.S.3d 730, 732 (2015). The Appellate Division affirmed, and the New York Court of Appeals denied Defendants’ Motion for leave to appeal. Id. at 733; lv. denied, 27 N.Y.3d 902, 32 N.Y.S.3d 53, 51 N.E.3d 564 (2016).

On April 5, 2016, Plaintiff filed a Letter Motion requesting that the Court lift the stay and issue a ruling on Defendants’ pending Motion for judgment on the pleadings; Dkt. No. 33 (“Letter Motion”). On April 7, 2016, the Court granted Plaintiffs Letter Motion in a Text Order lifting the stay and reinstating Defendants’ Motion. Dkt. No. 34 (“April Order”).

III.LEGAL STANDARD

A. Judgment on the Pleadings

Any party may move for judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) after the pleadings are closed, but early enough not to delay trial. Fed. R, Civ. P. 12(c). Rule 12(c) motions for judgment on the pleadings are decided by the same standard as Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to [203]*203state a claim upon which relief can be granted.2 Hayden v. Paterson, 594 F.3d 150, 160 (2d Cir.2010). Thus, “[t]o survive a Rule 12(c) motion, the complaint must contain sufficient factual matter to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,’” Graziano v. Pataki, 689 F.3d 110, 114 (2d Cir.2012) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)), when the complaint’s factual allegations are taken as true and all reasonable inferences are drawn in the plaintiffs favor. Kirkendall v. Halliburton, Inc,, 707 F.3d 173, 178 (2d Cir.2013). Facial plausibility exists “when the pleaded factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. Additionally, the “tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in [a complaint] is inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Id.

In evaluating a Rule 12(c) motion, a court is limited to the information contained in the pleadings themselves. See Cleveland v. Caplaw Enterprises, 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir.2006) (citing Nechis v. Oxford Health Plans, Inc., 421 F.3d 96, 100 (2d Cir.2005)). Generally, a court must convert a Rule 12(c) motion into a motion for summary judgment in order to consider material outside of the pleadings. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d). However, “[a] court may, without converting the motion into one for summary judgment, consider documents that are attached to, incorporated by reference in, or integral to the complaint; and it may also consider matters that are subject to judicial notice.” Byrd v. City of New York, No. 04-1396-CV, 2005 WL 1349876, at *1 (2d Cir. June 8, 2005) (citing Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc., 282 F.3d 147, 152-53 (2d Cir.2002)).

IY. DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs Complaint alleges that Defendants illegally removed Plaintiff from his office as the assessor for the Town of Wright. Compl. ¶2. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to comply with New York Public Officers Law § 36, under which public officers may only be removed for cause and after application to the Appellate Division. Id. ¶ 1; N.Y. Pub. Off. Law § 36; Enos v. Village of Seneca Falls, 288 A.D.2d 853, 732 N.Y.S.2d 785, 786-87 (2001). Plaintiff also brings claims for back pay, punitive damages, and compensatory damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his removal from office violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Compl. ¶ 76.

Defendants move for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c). Defendants cite four grounds for dismissal: (1) that individual members of the Town Board of the Town of Wright are entitled to legislative immunity and, therefore, claims against them should be dismissed; (2) that individual members of the Town Board are entitled to qualified immunity and, therefore, claims against them should be dismissed; (3) that the action should be dismissed as to Susan Crosby because the Complaint does not state a cause of action against her; and (4) that claims against individual Defendants in their official capacities should be dismissed because they are redundant when the municipality is also named as a Defendant. Mem.

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191 F. Supp. 3d 198, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74357, 2016 WL 3199510, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rubeor-v-town-of-wright-nynd-2016.